Leave it to hungry, overzealous cops to mistake breath mints for ecstasy in lieu of the opportunity to make a pointless arrest.
In April, NYPD officers "busted" 46-year-old Ron Hankins in Brooklyn after stopping and searching him (without cause, of course), then discovering loose white pellets in his pockets. According to a lawsuit filed against the NYPD, those pellets were POW! Energy Mints, not ecstasy.
The suit also says that Hankins asked police to smell the mints or break them up for confirmation, an offer they declined, instead choosing to arrest and charge him with drug possession. He was released, but not after spending 30 hours in jail.
The charges were dropped in October, but Hankins is still unsatisfied. "Fresh breath is not a crime," he told the New York Post, adding that it's "unthinkable" police could mistake mints for E pills because they're "wintergreen." Fucking hilarious.
This is just as bad as when cops arrested a man with a bag of Jolly Ranchers for possession of crystal meth.
[via New York Post]
